Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 25, 2015

Op-Ed article by lawyer Steve Cohen suggests that college-based tuition deferment could be solution to soaring cost of college; notes that in such a plan the college would have to borrow capital, which would be cheaper for the school than it currently is for students to take out loans; argues that incentive for colleges to adopt such plans is that it is in their self-interest to hang on to their middle-class customers. MORE

Feb. 19, 2015

Op-Ed article by centrist policy experts Jon Cowan and Jim Kessler states that federal government is not demanding enough from colleges in return for financial aid; holds that, among other requirements, universities should improve teacher performances, release statistics regarding alumni successes and graduation rates and take on more responsibility for student-loan defaults. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

The Upshot; little-noticed legislative modifications made by Pres George W Bush in 2007 and Pres Obama in 2010 have set in motion changes that could revolutionize the market for student loans and alleviate crippling $1.1 trillion debt burden on students; move away from private loans and toward Income-Based Repayment model could push payments in line with borrowers' income, leveling proportional effect of recessions and business cycles. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

New York Gov Andrew M Cuomo will introduce legislation aimed at easing student loan burden of thousands of college graduates; proposal stipulates that state cover two years of loan payments for graduates of New York State colleges who earn less than $50,000 a year. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

Obama administration will release report previewing its planned system for rating performance by colleges on aspects that include admissions standards, affordability, how student loans are handled, and how well students fare in finding jobs; Education Dept concedes project has been dauntingly complex, and remains hampered by limited availability of data; number of colleges have raised criticisms of system. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

Three studies, including those by Institute for College Access and Success and College Board, find real costs of college and student borrowing have leveled off, after years of sharp increases in college prices and student debt; it is unclear whether changes mark start of shift toward easing of price increases or just temporary pause. MORE

Nov. 4, 2014

Editorial examines plight of those struggling to keep up with private student loan payments; notes that they lack deferred payment options and other hardship clauses that come with federal loans; observes that federal regulators have struggled to effect change amid mounting consumer complaints; calls on Congress to step in and force private lenders to offer modified payment schedules. MORE

Oct. 3, 2014

Editorial contends federal student loan default data released by Education Dept underscores need for government to continue pressing both schools and loan servicing companies to educate students on plans that can keep them out of default; calls on government to crack down on predatory student loan practices, particularly at for-profit schools. MORE

Sep. 25, 2014

Education Department reports defaults on federal student loans declined in 2013 to 13.7 percent, from 14.7 percent in 2012; it is first drop in default rate in years, but 21 schools still have rates so high that they could be barred from federal loan and grant programs. MORE

Sep. 17, 2014

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sues major for-profit trade school chain Corinthian Colleges, charging that it lured students with lies about job placement and used illegal tactics to collect on student loans. MORE

Sep. 13, 2014

Retiring column; Federal Reserve Bank of New York data shows that an estimated two million Americans 60 and older are in debt from unpaid student loans, up substantially at $43 billion, from $8 billion in 2005; money is being deducted from Social Security payments to almost 140,000 individuals to pay outstanding loans. MORE

Sep. 8, 2014

Editorial approves of Education Dept's new rules governing student loan servicers but say they do not go far enough to overhaul service system; outlines ways department can improve competition and transparency in the industry. MORE

Aug. 23, 2014

Ann Carrns Your Money Adviser column on revised federal rules now in effect that should make it easier to return student loans in default to good standing; new rules will help define what are 'reasonable and affordable' monthly payments, aiming to get troubled loans back on track. MORE

Jul. 26, 2014

Editorial supports federal rules that penalize colleges for excessive student loan defaults; holds that rules offer powerful incentive for schools to educate students on complexities of federal student loan program and provide protection for both students and taxpayers; maintains that default levels are heavily influenced by quality of academic support, more so than students' socioeconomic bracket. MORE

Jul. 13, 2014

The debt settlement industry, already accused of questionable tactics related to mortgages, is finding a gold mine of new clients among those with college loans. MORE

Jul. 13, 2014

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column contends that in downfall of for-profit education company Corinthian Colleges, taxpayers and student borrowers will again pay for regulatory lapses; asserts that something about regulatory construct needs to change. MORE

Jul. 6, 2014

Lisa Prevost Mortgages column examines whether swelling student debt is a primary factor in the declining homeownership rate among 25-to 34-year olds; graph of mortgage rates in New York region. MORE

Jun. 27, 2014

Floyd Norris High & Low Finance column investigates Corinthian Colleges, operator of for-profit schools across country that have continued to benefit from federal funding and loans despite pattern of fraud that has left it on brink of bankruptcy; argues that government should stick to its guns in cracking down on colleges that put students deeply in debt only to gain useless educations. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

David Leonhardt The Upshot column; Brookings Institution report says share of income that young adults are devoting to loan repayment has remained fairly steady over last two decades; only 7 percent of young-adult households with education debt have $50,000 or more of it. MORE

Jun. 24, 2014

The Upshot column; federal government's Pay as You Earn program, commonly called PAYE, saves money mostly for low-income student-loan-burdened recent college graduates who have incurred an unusually big federal debt; Pres Obama's executive order to revise program caps monthly loan payments at 10 percent of discretionary income. MORE

Jun. 22, 2014

Adam Davidson article notes that one in five Americans in their 20s and early 30s lives with his or her parents, and 60 percent of all young adults receive financial support from them; contends that recession was only part of so-called boomerang generation's problem, and that plight of young people is part of trend that has been growing stealthily for more than 30 years; warns that shift is not a temporary phenomenon. MORE

Jun. 15, 2014

The Upshot; Susan Dynarski Economic View column welcomes executive order signed by Pres Obama that will ease debt burden on millions of American students, but argues that it does not go far enough; suggests that to adequately insure students against the risk of investing in college, government should allow student-loan payments to rise and fall with their income. MORE

Jun. 14, 2014

Ron Lieber Your Money column; Pres Obama's ordered changes to federal student loan program could help millions of borrowers make payments more affordable starting in 2015; Americans often have to prioritize repaying debt or saving for home buying, college for their own children, or retirement; changes could put hundreds of thousands of dollars back in their pockets and release them from life-long burden of debt. MORE

Jun. 11, 2014

Editorial praises Pres Obama for signing executive order providing relief to millions of struggling student loan borrowers and urging Congress to pass student loan refinancing bill; contends both order and bill speak to grave problem that has trapped recent college graduates and threatens long-term health of the economy; calls on Congress to reconfigure student aid system. MORE

Jun. 10, 2014

Pres Obama signs executive order intended to lessen the college loan burden on nearly five million younger Americans by capping repayments at 10 percent of the borrowers' monthly income; Obama’s executive actions coincide with the introduction of a Senate measure that would allow 25 million borrowers to refinance student loans at lower interest rates by adding a tax on the wealthy. MORE

Jun. 8, 2014

Pres Obama will take executive actions to ease the burden of college loan debt for potentially millions of Americans; economists say borrowers' debt load is growing and retarding ability to buy homes, start businesses or otherwise spend to spur economy. MORE

Jun. 8, 2014

Soaring student loan debt is making move to New York City for young people even less sensible; education debt has tripled, reaching over $1 trillion; record number of college students are graduating knee deep in a financial hole before they begin their adult lives. MORE

May. 25, 2014

Phyllis Korkki Applied Science column; collection of studies illustrates that rise of student debt has significantly modified economic decision making and has hobbled the economy as a whole; loan burdens make people less likely to start businesses, purchase homes, or take a public interest job. MORE

May. 19, 2014

Report by Institute for Policy Studies finds that at 25 public universities with highest-paid presidents, both student debt and use of part-time adjunct faculty grew far faster than at average state university from 2005 to 2012. MORE

May. 17, 2014

Ron Lieber Your Money column offers road map to repaying student loans, with tips to help those with college debt to steer clear of common repayment mistakes and protect credit scores. MORE

May. 14, 2014

Student lender Sallie Mae, and its former subsidiary Navient, agree to pay $97 million to settle complaints about excessive fees and interest on student loans to military service members. MORE

Apr. 29, 2014

Editorial, citing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report, criticizes private student loans that exploit borrowers and co-signers and force many into default; calls on regulators to address crisis, and force lenders to clearly state a loan's terms and risks. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report finds that some people who pay private student loans on time are being placed in default when the co-signer of their loans dies or declares bankruptcy; Rohit Chopra, bureau’s student loan ombudsman, urges people to review their loan provisions. MORE

Apr. 17, 2014

Editorial urges Obama administration to strengthen its new rules against for-profit colleges that saddle poor students with crippling debts while giving them useless credentials; criticizes industry for pressuring the administration to water down such rules; contends for-profit schools often target poor students and lure them into questionable programs, and that move oversight is needed. MORE

Mar. 28, 2014

Growing number of disabled borrowers who qualify for student loan forgiveness are shocked to find that the Internal Revenue Service may count forgiven debt as income, essentially forcing them to exchange one debt for another; consumer advocates and tax specialists have criticized regulations, saying they are notoriously difficult to navigate, especially for someone suffering from medical problems. MORE

Mar. 14, 2014

Obama administration will propose rule that for-profit colleges lose all federal student aid, a fatal blow, if their students fail tests of earnings and debt default. MORE

Feb. 27, 2014

Feb. 26, 2014

Four named plaintiffs are seeking debt relief and reimbursement from the federal government in lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan; suit contends the government should stop trying to collect on loans that were given to students of now-shuttered Wilfred Academy beauty school, one of nationwide chain, since it was aware that the company routinely falsified student eligibility for the loans. MORE

Feb. 20, 2014

Floyd Norris High & Low Finance column observes that as student loan debt continues to rise, loans’ underwriting standards remain almost nonexistent; points out it is becoming increasingly obvious that student loans, with soaring delinquency rate, are creating large problems for economy that may persist for decades. MORE

Jan. 19, 2014

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has warned ITT Educational Services, one of nation's largest operators of for-profit technical schools, that it might seek penalties and remedies against it for possible student loan violations; ITT says its practices involving its private lending trust are legal; student loan program it initiated ended in 2012 and is becoming problematic, as many loans are defaulting. MORE

Jan. 2, 2014

Concerns grow over ruthless debt collection tactics of Educational Credit Management Corporation, main private entity hired by Education Dept to fight student debtors who file for bankruptcy on federal loans; review of hundreds of pages of court documents as well as interviews with consumer advocates, experts and bankruptcy lawyers suggest that Educational Credit's pursuit of student borrowers has veered more than occasionally into dubious terrain. MORE

Dec. 5, 2013

Report from the research group Institute for College Access and Success finds wide variation in student debt from college to college, as well as regional variations; students in the East and Midwest were found to borrow far more than their counterparts in the West and South. MORE

Nov. 17, 2013

Loose Ends column by humorist Peter Gerstenzang describes a nightmare he had in which he had gotten so far behind in student loan payments that the government repossessed his education. MORE

Oct. 17, 2013

Your Money Advisor column; difficulties in having payments properly applied to a student loan balance is a common complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; tips on questions to consider when making extra payments to reduce loan balance. MORE

Sep. 25, 2013

Education Department plans to contact borrowers who are struggling to repay federal student loans to make sure they understand all relief options available to them; effort is part of Pres Obama's proposals to make nation's colleges more affordable. MORE

Aug. 10, 2013

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp plans to accuse Sallie Mae, giant student lending corporation, of charging military personnel excessive interest on student loans; government is looking into similar allegations against other lenders. MORE

Aug. 10, 2013

Pres Obama signs a measure into law to restore lower interest rates for student loans. MORE

Aug. 1, 2013

House Democrats and Republicans vote, 392 to 31, to reset and cap student loan interest rates after July failure forced rates to double; votes mark rare moment of bipartisan agreement, positive development that nonetheless raises issue of why Congress fails to find consensus on big issues more often. MORE

Jul. 29, 2013

Hundreds of women in New York City are deep in debt, and with little training, after attending cosmetology schools that falsified student loan applications; federal student loans are difficult to relieve, and there is no statue of limitations on their collection; New York Legal Assistance Group has contacted federal Education Dept on victims' behalf, requesting refunds, restoration of credit and immediate discharge of the debt. MORE

Jul. 25, 2013

Senate approves bipartisan plan that will tie interest rates for college student loans to the financial markets, bringing Congress close to finally resolving a dispute that caused rates to double on July 1. MORE

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Under the proposal, the state would cover two years of loan payments for graduates of New York State colleges who make less than $50,000 a year, continue to live in the state and are enrolled in a federal repayment program.